How to Install Android Ice Cream Sandwich on Nexus S

Google announced the latest iteration of Android, the Ice Cream Sandwich at the Samsung and Google Unpacked event last week. They also announced the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the first ever phone to come with Android 4.0. However, the SDK was released to developers, since it’s an open source OS, and was right away ported to an old Google Nexus One. The Nexus S will be getting the Ice Cream Sandwich and it has been confirmed, but the Nexus One has been pushed aside.

In case you happen to own a Google Nexus S and can’t wait to try out Android Ice Cream Sandwich, this post will definitely help you. Also, if you can’t wait till the official release of Ice Cream Sandwich for the Nexus S, then you should definitely give this a try as it can be used for daily usage. Remember, there will be bugs as this is a direct port of the SDK and users with heart conditions shouldn’t try this.

Before we begin, the first step to a successful Custom ROM installation is to backup your device, all the data that you need should be backed up. This process is going to erase and Factory reset your Nexus S, but will also let you experience and show-off Android 4.0. You also need to own a Google Nexus S that must be rooted, have an unlocked bootloader and have Clockwork Mod Recovery installed. If you haven’t done any of that, you can do so by download and running this batch.exe file, while your device is connected to your Windows PC and USB debugging is turned off. Make sure you run the file in administrator mode. Once you’ve done that, your Nexus S will be rooted, have an unlocked bootloader and CWM recovery ready.

Download the latest build of Ice Cream Sandwich for Nexus S from here.

Copy/Paste the downloaded zip file to the root of internal storage of your device.

Turn of your device and hold the Volume Up button with the Power button to enter CWM Recovery mode.

Select choose zip from sdcard and scroll down to the zip file that you copied and hit the Power button.

The installation will start and your phone will reboot to Ice Cream Sandwich

Enjoy!!

That’s it. You’ll now be running Ice Cream Sandwich. It may be a little slow after the first boot, so you will have to reboot once more to make it run smoothly. Some apps may crash for the first time, but they should be alright later on. Face Unlock and NFC may not work properly.

Do try this out and let us know how you find Ice Cream Sandwich on Nexus S.